“Midnight Never Come” by Marie Brennan. This is an intricate, beautifully written historical fantasy that entwines Elizabeth the Virgin Queen and Invidiana, faerie ruler of the Onyx Court below London. Brennan brings romance, intrigue, and richly detailed worldbuilding, blending historical with the fantastic so smoothly you barely notice the seams. If you're looking for a quick, action-packed page-turner, this might not be the book for you, but I very much enjoyed it.

“Sly Mongoose” by Tobias S. Buckell. Floating cities, space zombies, and a bioenhanced badass named Pepper. What more do you need? This is the third book in Buckell's Xenowealth series, and I think it's the best of the three. For those of you who wanted page-turning action, this is your book.

“Mistshore” by Jaleigh Johnson. I wanted to read some media tie-ins this year, and “Mistshore” was one of my favorites. In some respects, you can tell it's a Dungeons & Dragons book, with a small and heroic group facing monsters and fighting for what's right. But Johnson writes very believable, genuine characters, giving them more depth and realism than many “original” works. This is a good book to give to anyone who looks down on tie-in work.

ON THE HORIZON FOR JIM C. HINES:

2009 is going to be a big year for me. January 6 marks the release of “The Stepsister Scheme”, the first book in my new series. It's basically a mash-up of the old fairy tales with Charlie's Angels. Danielle (Cinderella), Talia (Sleeping Beauty), and Snow (White) work together to save the prince, fight a witch, and generally kick butt. It helps that Snow has inherited her mother's mirror and magic, and that Talia's fairy gifts turn her into a lethal warrior. Danielle has a few tricks of her own as well. I'm really excited about this series.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jim C. Hines made his first professional fiction sale with the award-winning short story, “Blade of the Bunny”. Since then, his short fiction has appeared in Realms of Fantasy, Sword & Sorceress, Turn the Other Chick, and over thirty magazines. His first published novel was “Goblin Quest” followed by the sequels “Goblin Hero” and “Goblin War”. For more information, please visit the author’s Official Website.